In surgical procedures, it is important to minimize trauma to the patient and damage to tissue to facilitate patient recovery. One way to accomplish this is to minimize the size of the incision for the surgical procedure. A number of retractors are available that are designed to expand a small surgical incision and provide access to a surgical site. Such retractors typically include two or more independent retractor blades that separate to expand the incision and create a working space in which to conduct the surgical procedure. One problem with such retractors is that retracted tissue often enters the space between the expanded retractor blades and interferes with access to the surgical site.
In addition to retractors, serial dilation may be used to expand a small incision to provide access to a surgical site. Typically, the surgical procedure is performed through a tubular shaped port that is positioned over the last inserted dilator. A problem with such ports is that the size and shape of the working space for the surgical procedure is limited due to the fixed geometry of the ports.